Most of the attention here was on the directors' box.

As each member of the Rangers board walked down to their seat, it became evident that some kind of compromise had been reached at a meeting yesterday morning. Several hours were spent at Murray Park discussing recent events concerning Charles Green's use of racist language in an interview and allegations made by Craig Whyte about his involvement with the consortium that bought the club last summer.

Rangers supporters arrived at the ground in a state of doubt, and many gathered outside the main entrance, waiting vainly for some kind of news.

This ought to have been a time of celebration, since this was the first competitive home game since Rangers won the third Division title, and the Clyde players and staff formed a guard of honour before kick-off. Yet the fans' attention kept drifting towards the directors' box.

The singing section, containing the Union Bears and The Blue Order, made their views clear. They sang "Charlie, Charlie give us the truth" and "Charlie doesnae know". It was self-contained and could barely be described as an insurrection, but it would have made the chief executive uncomfortable.

By then, a statement had been released revealing that the board would be instructing an independent examination into the recent revelations involving Green, Imran Ahmad and Whyte, as well as the former's running of the club.

With a rift having developed between Green and Ally McCoist, not least over rumoured plans to sack the manager's two assistants, Ian Durrant and Kenny McDowall the way that McCoist greeted news of the board's decision was telling. "I'm delighted with it," he responded, "having said for many weeks I've hoped for clarity and honesty, I'm obviously delighted at the statement. It is the very least our fans deserve.

"It's been a difficult week for everybody. It would be unfair for me to comment on a matter that the board have made their comments on.

"I'm really encouraged by the statement. It's more important that we get it right and the independent commission are given the time required to come to the correct decisions. I was aware of the need and the urgency of the board to get results. Knowing one or two board members very well, they want an end to this and I am confident in the future of the club."

McCoist was heartened by some aspects of his team's display, too. Rangers dominated possession against Clyde, Andrew Mitchell played very well making his full debut at right back, and two more young players – Luca Gasparotto and Daniel Stoney – impressed as substitutes. But the manager was exasperated by his team's failure to create chances, with David Templeton in particular enduring an awkward afternoon.

Nonetheless, Rangers persevered, as did Templeton. He crossed for Lee McCulloch to open the scoring in the second half and released Kyle Hutton with a neat through ball towards the end, allowing the midfielder to secure the points.

The home side had spurned chances in between, with Jamie Barclay, the Clyde goalkeeper, saving well from Gasparotto's header, while Ian Black drove over from distance. McCulloch also saw a shot deflected over.

"Rangers deserved to win," admitted Jim Duffy, the Clyde manager. "They had most of the play and most of the chances, but the effort from my players was phenomenal. We just lacked a bit of creativity."